A tattoo parlour with a difference is about to open in Knowle West, Bristol – instead of inking new tattoos it will digitally collect people’s pieces of body art and create an online gallery celebrating the strong tattoo culture in the neighbourhood.
The Mobile Tattoo Parlour will be open for business at 11am on Tuesday 10th June on Leinster Avenue, outside the Marked Up Tattoo Studio. Knowle West Media Centre is looking for ten local people to come ready to add their favourite tattoo to the online collection as part of the opening ceremony and press launch for a new project. If you would like to take part please contact Luke Gregg on 0117 903 0444 or email him at luke.gregg@kwmc.org.uk
The Mobile Parlour is a collaboration with digital agency Play Nicely and artists Stand & Stare – and is part of new project called ‘I Will Always Have You’. From Tuesday 10 June Knowle West residents can photograph their tattoos and upload the ‘tattoo selfies’ and their stories to www.knowlewesttattoos.org.uk. Some will feature in an interactive exhibition at KWMC in September this year.
‘I Will Always Have You’ offers an opportunity for people to share the memories, lost loves and tall tales that are etched into their tattoos. By gathering these stories, the project hopes to explore and better understand the growing popularity of tattoos across the UK and the richness of the tattoo culture of Knowle West.
Melissa Mean, Arts Producer at KWMC, said: “1 in 5 adults in Britain now have a tattoo[1] – by using our skin as a canvas we can become walking works of art. KWMC is looking forward to welcoming all sorts of people to the Mobile Parlour to share their experience of the creative act of tattooing. We’re scratching the surface of Knowle West and we’re excited about what we might find.”
Lucy Haywood, Artistic Director at Stand & Stare said: “We have already met some incredible people with amazing tattoos in Knowle West. One thing that has struck us is how, when people have multiple tattoos, they often become like a map of memories, indelible pictures that remind you of people, stories and who you are. We can’t wait to get the Mobile Parlour out on the road so we can meet loads more fascinating people and build up a better picture of why Knowle West Boys and Girls love their tattoos so much.”
Megan Hoyle, Studio Manager at Play Nicely, said: “We jumped at the opportunity to work on this campaign for a few reasons – but largely as it’s such an interesting use of Kinect technology. [With] the online tattoo cataloging system for everyone in Knowle West (at first) to easily submit their own tattoos and the resulting exhibition – it can only be a hugely original and revealing event.”
The Mobile Parlour will tour different locations around Knowle West from Tuesday 10 June. The Parlour will then be installed at Knowle West Media Centre from 1 July, where people can visit it over the summer.
For more details about I Will Always Have You contact Melissa Mean. For press enquiries contact Rachel Clarke.
[1] Metro: ‘ Why Britons love being inked’. http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/21/do-you-have-a-tattoo-too-why-britons-love-being-inked-3504642/
More information about the project coming soon.
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